Jaws of Oblivion: I  The Way of the Blade
by Sierra Brown
Summary: It's a quiet night indeed in Kvatch, and a special surprise awaits a young dunmer girl named Sidea Isimu – But this surprise is far from what anyone, even the castle guards, could ever expect…
1. Prologue:  Fall of Kvatch

_A/N: I know this was up a long time ago, and that it had some problems, including vanishing completely (Really it's my fault for not backing everything up. Severe hardware failures made me lose everything) But I'm at it again - And the prologue's been revised. I'm also going to be completely rewriting every chapter from here, mostly because I don't have the old chapters anymore._

_Anyway, enjoy._

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><p>The night was peaceful, not a cloud in sight. The moon, full, big, shone brightly upon the town of Kvatch. White banners bearing the Kvatch crest – The head of a black dog Hung from the walls of the castle and the city gates. Aside from the city guard, there was very little movement. It was far too late in the day for shops to be open, church goers to be praying, or heralds to be announcing the daily events. Even the arena was quiet, a rarity in daylight.<p>

Though the city slept, there were a few awake, mostly the guardsmen. Two such guards were a simple castle guardsman and the captain of the city guard, who were both posted at the castle gates – And a young, dark skinned, white hair dunmer girl. Their names were Berich Inian, Savlian Matius and Sidea Isimu. Savlian's voice cut the silence.

"It's a quiet night"

"That it is. Not even the usual dogs barking." Replied Berich, before he glanced to the quiet dunmer. "Say, Sidea, aren't you normally at the chapel with the priest this time of night?"

"Hm?" She seemed to have been in deep thought. Berich chuckled to himself. Probably daydreaming again, he thought. "Oh, he said to wait out here for him. He wanted to show me a surprise."

"Really now?" Berich turned to the captain. "I wonder what that could be?"

They both laughed, with the dunmer giving them a questioning glance. Of course, they both knew what the surprise was.

"It's quiet.." Said Sidea, mirroring what Savlian had said just moments ago

There was a quiet pause, as they listened for a moment. Sure enough, they were greeted by pure silence. No barking, no mewing of cats, not even a rustle of wind. All was calm, peaceful, and quiet. Captain Matius shivered, and drew his cloak tighter round himself.

"Catch a cold, Captain?" Berich asked, seeing the cloaked Imperial shaking.

"No, just a chill." A pause. "It's too quiet."

The mention of the cold seemed to make Sidea shiver as well, and she too drew her cloak around herself. There was another moment of silence, as they both listened quietly again. Still surrounded by silence, Berich spoke, in reassurance to the captain. "The town's probably just getting it's rest before the Harvest's End festival."

"That's right, the festival…" Savlian frowned. "I've been taking too much time on guard duty, I forgot the festival was this Freedas."

Berich chuckled and patted Savlian on the back. "Why don't you head take Sidea to the mage's guild, then rest for the night? I can keep the post, it's quiet enough."

"But what about Martin?"

"Don't worry, miss. I'll send him over when he comes by. I'm sure he'll understand."

"I think I'll do that." Said Savlian after some thought, and a warm smile to the dunmer. "Farewell, Berich. Let's go, Sidea. The cold is no place for a lady."

They gave their goodbyes, then Savlian led Sidea down the city streets, away from the castle gates, to the mage's guild.

Berich watched the two go, smiling to himself. That girl was so sweet and innocent, and just so likable. He still remembered what Audra had told him when the girl had first arrived.

"You keep an eye on her for me. Father kept her a bit too isolated from the outside world, so she's not very streetsmart. Oh, and if I hear of anything happening to her, your head rolls first."

Her family's protectiveness must have been nice, but it worried him at the same time. A girl her age, just on the verge of turning twenty, shouldn't be so sheltered and innocent. But, he had a reason to be thankful – Both for the sake of the girl's well being, and his own head – She had fallen that young priest Martin.

Berich held his post for some time in the quiet dark, wide awake and watching the empty streets. A roll of thunder, distant, provided the only sound and he paid it no mind. Another roll of thunder sounded, closer, and the wind picked up. He glanced upwards, suddenly wondering why there was thunder when the night was cloudless. The sky was red, as if dawn was breaking, but he could see no sun, and dark clouds were forming above.

He barely had time to consider the strangeness of this before he heard a noise behind him. A rasping, hissing kind of sound like an intake of breath. It filled him with a sense of dread, as he gripped the hilt of his sword, slowly turning around.

What he saw was a nightmarish creature. It stood on two legs, with long, black, three-clawed hands, a skinny, almost starved look, and an impossibly long tongue that was snaking through the air toward him. Unseeing black eyes stared blankly passed him, and its tongue quivered hungrily as it made that rasping hissing sound It was sniffing the air, and Berich was silently grateful he was downwind.

The mere sight of the creature had been enough to freeze him in fear and dread. But then, the wind shifted, the creature gave a sharp hiss, and then it seemed to be looking directly at him. It then advanced, that long tongue inching closer, tasting his scent on the air.

He shifted, his chain-mail clinking lightly. His grip on the sword tightened. He drew his blade. It glistened red in the light of the sky, a fine, simple blade of steel.

The creature froze, hissing, then raised those nightmarish, long, black claws. Suddenly, it was rushing at him with in-human speed, the tongue moving like a whip, glistening with a greenish tinge.

A flash of light forced Berich to shut his eyes, blindly swinging his blade, then the light faded. The creature lay dead before him, but he had not felt his blade connect. He became aware, then, of a dark robed figure approaching him. Turning, he repositioned his sword.

"Halt!" He commanded, the creature's spell of fear gone with its death. "Who's there?"

The figure, pausing, gave his reply. "Brother Martin, a Priest of Akatosh." The priest looked around for a moment. "Where's Sidea?"

Berich breathed a sigh of relief. "She's at the Mages Guild." Then, he noticed the sound of shouting and fighting. He watched, bewildered, as a man was chased down and gored by a dinosaur like creature.

"Wait!" Martin called, for Berich had just started after the creature responsible. "Help me take them to the chapel. They'll be safe there."

It made sense to the guardsman, as he heaved his blade into the creatures hide. These… Things had to be demons, and therefore could not enter holy ground.

"Alright, let's get the guard and the citizens and-"

A loud, rumbling roar drowned out the rest of his words. A section of wall collapsed into a cloud of dust, a surge of demons coming through, unchecked by the already overwhelmed guardsmen. They had little hope.

The dust cleared, revealing a large, glowing red portal. A gigantic many-legged creature with a mouth of fire crawled over the wrecked wall, and was moving straight for the castle.

Men fled at the sight of the horde and the beast, guardsmen and citizens alike. Berich saw the priest running to a group of people, and gave chase.

They had to save as many as they could.


	2. Chapter 1: Whispers in the Dark

Valen Dreth had been locked up in this hole for who knew how long. It was dark, dank, and quiet. And very lonely. Very few ever committed a crime severe enough to be thrown into a cell for life, but not so bad as to be killed on sight. Most would have tried to run and been killed by the guards, or have simply killed themselves. But not Valen. He was afraid of death, of what Sithis might do once his soul was released into the void.

So here he was. An aging Dunmer who was slowly wasting away, alone in the life sentence cell block. He was used to it by now, and it kept him safe. He knew that it would be impossible for anyone, even the Dark Brotherhood, to get to him. Every day, it was the same routine. The jailer would come down with the morning meal and a washbasin, and wake the Dunmer with a sharp rap of chainmail gauntlet against steel bars. It was always enough to wake the frail old mer, who had been jumpy about everything since his first day in the Imperial Prison. And this morning was no different.

"Looks like you got lucky this morning, Dreth. No slop today." Said the jailer as he slid a plate under the cell door. "Fresh mutton."

While most prisoners would dive on the plate immediately, Valen was, predictable, suspicious. "Who is this from? Are the other prisoners getting mutton? Who prepared this?"

"Cooked it myself." It was as if the jailer had expected the suspicion, as he answered with ease. "One of the lambs from the Emperor's personal flock was killed by wolves last night. The palace donated it to the prison."

"Hm." Valen eyed the meat for a moment longer, before giving into his hunger and diving onto it like a wild dog. The jailer slid a cup of water and a washbasin under the cell door as well, then headed back up the steps and out of the cell block. Valen tasted no trace of poison in the meat, and he couldn't foresee any other possible attempts on his. He could tell that today would be a great day for him.

The day went on as it always did. The jailer came back down fifteen minutes later to pick up the dishes, then headed back out of the cell block. He spent the better part of the morning with a quill and paper, writing of death and shadows, blood and matrons. That corner of his cell was cluttered with used up parchment and old quills, which probably hadn't been cleaned up since the Dunmer first took up writing as a past time. Valen liked things left right where he put them, and nobody aside from the jailer had ever been down here to see the mess.

It was a quiet, lonely life. But it was safe and secluded. So, he was very surprised - And even more suspicious - When he heard voices and armored feet coming down the steps. He quickly retreated to the darkest corner of his cell, crouching down and doing his best to stay hidden.

"Quit your squirming you little rat." Came a gruff Imperial voice. There was the muffled sound of someone struggling, then a thunk before the sound stopped.

"Well don't kill him," Said a second voice, "Captain Avidius will have our heads."

Valen watched, now curious though still suspicious, as two imperial watchmen dragged an unconscious Dunmer boy in front of the cell across from him.

"Toss him in here." Said one of the watchmen "Nobody ever uses this cell anyway. He'll be here for a long time."

The other one dragged the boy into the cell and left him lying on the ground. They locked the cell gate, and with a few parting words, left the boy and Valen alone in the cellblock.

"This'll teach you to steal from Audens Avidius."

Valen stared at the boy as he started to stir. Right away, the old mer despised this young Dunmer. The nerve of this boy. How dare he invade upon his cell block? This was all supposed to be his and his alone. He silently vowed to make this prison stay very… Unpleasant for the boy.

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><p>Clank. Clank. Clank.<p>

The sound of two guardsmen's armor echoed loudly down the stone staircase as they dragged a young Dunmer boy deep into the Imperial Prison. He was struggling and fighting, insisting that he was innocent, but the taller of the guardsmen bashed his head into a wall. He went limp, dazed from the blow.

The two guardsmen started bickering about the prisoner as they tossed him into an empty cell.

"This'll teach you to steal from Audens Avidius."

The guardsmen left the boy alone in his cell, and he slowly rolled onto his back, groaning. His head ached, and he could feel a warm wetness when he touched his scalp. How hard had they hit his head? He hoped he wouldn't be left to bleed to death here. Slowly he sat up, almost regretting it as the cell started spinning around him, black spots forming in front of his eyes. He groaned again, clutching his head in his hands.

He stayed like this, eyes tightly shut, curled up on the floor until the headache subsided and could look around. The cell was small, dark, and cold, and he could hear the sound of water dripping somewhere nearby. The lonely little barred window above let in little, if any, light at all. Below this window was a simple wood table and a matching wooden chair, with an empty clay pitcher covered in dust.

There was also a bed of sorts – A stone alcove cut into the wall, with enough space for someone to lie down if they drew their legs up. There was some straw in this alcove, probably to serve as some kind of bedding, but there wasn't a blanket or anything warm in sight.

The Dunmer boy had been just about to lay down when he heard a voice across from his cell.

"Hey. Hey you. Kinsman."

He moved closer to the cell bars, curious about the voice. He vaguely made out the shape of another Dunmer in the cell across from his.

"What's your name, hm?" The voice asked.

"Daruke…" The boy stammered out nervously. "Daruke Isimu"

"I haven't seen another Dunmer in here in I don't know how long." His words were friendly, but something about the man's voice seemed less than kind. "Where are you from, huh? Vvardenfell?"

The boy nodded, thinking it best to be polite and respond as he tried getting a better look at the other Dunmer. He caught a glimpse of dirty white hair, sunken red eyes… And an unsettling smirk. "Ald'Ruhn"

"Really?" The voice came in a sneer. "You got a wife back home?"

He was taken aback by that question. Could the other Dunmer not see how young he is? "N-no... I'm barely of age…" He rambled on without thinking "Just my sister, Sidea, in the Imperial City"

"Ah… Sidea.." The figure, whom the young was now beginning to think was eccentric, chuckled. The sound was frightening. "Tell you what. I'm getting out of here in a few days… When I get out, I'll look her up. She must be getting very… Lonely, hm?"

He stared at the figure, those words piercing into the fears he had of being trapped here, his sister having no brother to protect her. The other Dunmer laughed darkly, then retreated to the darkness of his cell

He stared into that darkness, too shocked and afraid to move. Why did he tell this mer about his sister? And why was he even in this prison to begin with? All he had done was buy his sister a necklace, then a guard captain accused him of theft. Audens Avidius. He didn't even know that name. Did he not like Dunmer? His sister needed him. He'd made a promise to protect her and he had to keep that promise, but now how could he do that when he was locked up?

Daruke's thoughts chased themselves around in a whirlwind. He wandered to the bed, sitting down with a quiet sigh and became aware of a dull, throbbing pain where he had hit his head. Deciding that he should rest, he laid down on the cold, hard piece of stone. Maybe when he woke up he could think more clearly and find a way out of this mess.


End file.
